Clopidogrel bisulfate, methyl (+)-(S)-α-(2-chlorophenyl)-6,7-dihydrothieno[3,2-c]pyridine-5(4H)-acetate sulfate (1:1), is an inhibitor of ADP-induced platelet aggregation acting by direct inhibition of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) binding to its receptor and of the subsequent ADP-mediated activation of the glycoprotein GPIIb/IIIa complex. Clopidogrel selectively inhibits the binding of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to its platelet receptor and the subsequent ADP-mediated activation of the glycoprotein GPIIb/IIIa complex, thereby inhibiting platelet aggregation. Biotransformation of clopidogrel is necessary to produce inhibition of platelet aggregation. An active metabolite responsible for the activity of the drug has been isolated (Pereillo et al., Drug Metab. Disposition (2002), 30(11), 1288-1295). Clopidogrel also inhibits platelet aggregation induced by agonists other than ADP by blocking the amplification of platelet activation by released ADP. Clopidogrel does not inhibit phosphodiesterase activity.
Clopidogrel bisulfate is a white to off-white powder. It is practically insoluble in water at neutral pH but freely soluble at pH 1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,265 discloses the dextro-rotary form of clopidogrel. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,074,928, 6,767,913, 6,504,030, 6,429,210, and 6,504,030 disclose polymorphic forms of clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,858,734, 6,800,759, and 6,737,411 disclose various methods for preparing clopidogrel. Salt forms, polymorphs, and processes for preparation of clopidogrel are disclosed in U.S. Pregrant Publications No. 20060154957, No. 20060100231, No. 20060074242, No. 20060047121, No. 20060041136, No. 20050256152, No. 20050228012, No. 20050203122, No. 20050143414, No. 20050049275, and No. 20050049226. PCT International Publication No. WO 03/66637 discloses a hydrochloride salt form of clopidogrel and the process for its preparation.
Clopidogrel is currently marketed in the United States under the trade name PLAVIX (Sanofi Aventis). It is supplied in tablet form containing 75 mg equivalents of the clopidogrel base, even though the drug is present in the bisulfate salt form. It is also available in generic tablet form (Apotex, Inc.). U.S. Pat. No. 6,914,141 discloses a tablet formulation containing clopidogrel bisulfate.
PLAVIX is an antiplatelet medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reduce atherothrombotic events in 1) patients with a history of recent myocardial infarction (MI), recent stroke, or established peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and 2) patients with acute coronary syndrome (unstable angina/non-Q-wave MI) including patients who are to be managed medically and those who are to be managed with percutaneous coronary intervention (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), stent, atherectomy, etc.) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). PLAVIX is a prescription medication that when taken daily can help reduce the risk of having a future heart attack or stroke. U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,328 discloses a method of preventing secondary ischemic events by the administration of clopidogrel after onset of a primary ischemic event. U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,514 discloses methods of treating thrombotic disorders by administration of clopidogrel to subjects in need thereof.
Von Beckerath et al. (Circulation (2005), 112, 2946-2950) disclose the results of a clinical study comparing the absorption, metabolism and antiplatelet effects of 300 mg, 600 mg and 900 mg loading doses of clopidogrel administered perorally prepared from crushed Plavix® tablets. They report the maximum ADP-induced platelet aggregation occurs at about 4 hours. Plavix inhibited 5 uM ADP-induced platelet aggregation by approximately 23% (300 mg dose), 34% (600 mg dose), 39% (900 mg dose), with minimal differences in antiplatelet effect between the 600 and 900 mg doses. These time periods are substantially similar to those usually observed following administration of whole PLAVIX® tablets (Weerakody et al. Am. J. Cardiol. 2007:100:331-336).
In the clinical setting, PLAVIX® tablets are administered orally prior to certain interventional cardiology procedures such as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in order to decrease a patient's platelet aggregation and thereby reduce the risk of reocclusion or restenosis during or after the procedure. The amount of clopidogrel administered to a patient is related to the projected time to the procedure for that patient. In general, the greater the amount of clopidogrel administered the shorter the time to reach the desired therapeutic effect (e.g. platelet aggregation inhibition). For an average dose (300 mg clopidogrel in a PLAVIX® tablet), the typical time to reach the desired therapeutic effect (e.g. platelet aggregation inhibition) varies from two to five hours. If there is an immediate need for the procedure (for example, PCI in less than two to three hours), then a larger dose of clopidogrel is administered than would be administered if the procedure were to be performed after two, three or more hours. For example, a patient undergoing a procedure in 60-180 minutes post administration of clopidogrel may be administered 600 mg. For a procedure starting 180 minutes or longer after administration of clopidogrel, the patient may be administered 300 mg. The reason this dosing strategy being employed is that there is an apparent in vivo dose saturation effect, whereby increasing the dose does not increase the overall efficacy of the drug but merely increases the rate of therapeutic onset, i.e. increases the rate at which a target inhibition of platelet aggregation is achieved post-administration of the drug. The specific protocol used, and times before and after which larger or small doses are used varies between different institutions, but most use larger doses when procedures are performed more quickly post dosing.
However, it is undesirable to administer unnecessarily large amounts of clopidogrel due to its toxicology profile. Clopidogrel side effects include hemorrhage, stomach upset/pain, diarrhea, constipation, headache, dizziness, rash, flu-like symptoms, back/joint pain, unusually long bleeding, unusual or easy bruising/bleeding, black stools, vomiting, chest pain, swelling, depression, fever, persistent sore throat, unusual weakness, vision changes, slurred speech, confusion, severe rash, itching, severe dizziness, or trouble breathing.
Moreover, if a patient presents with a severe cardiac event, e.g. ACS (acute coronary syndrome), there is a need to treat the patient as quickly as possible in order to minimize the risk of myocardial damage, which increases rapidly with time. A clinician must be able to diagnose a patient as rapidly as possible in order to determine the appropriate emergency medical treatment as rapidly as possible. The goal is to be able to treat the patient who would require PCI within ninety minutes after presenting in a hospital with ACS, but this short time period is unrealistic or unreliable when using PLAVIX® tablets. Moreover, while clopidogrel is contraindicated in major invasive emergency surgical procedures, such as CABG, it is indicated for minimally invasive emergency procedures, such as PCI. One standard treatment protocol at this time is as follows: 1) determine whether the patient is presenting with an ACS; 2) alert the catheter lab of incoming patient; 3) oral administration of 300-600 mg of clopidogrel (as PLAVIX® tablet(s)); 4) transport patient to catheter lab; 5) perform coronary angiogram; 6) determine if medical therapy alone, PCI or CABG is most appropriate; and 7) if medical therapy alone is indicated treat the patient with long term (chronic) clopidogrel therapy; or 8) if PCI is indicated, perform PCI and maintain patient on long term (chronic) clopidogrel therapy; or 8) if CABG is indicated, delay CABG for until platelet aggregation returns to normal for the patient. If CABG is performed within 7 days after the patient has received a dose of clopidogrel, there is a high risk of major bleeding, hemorrhage-related complications, and transfusion requirements (Pickard et al. Pharmacotherapy (2008), 23, 376-392). Unfortunately, if administration of PLAVIX® tablets is delayed until after a determination that PCI instead or CABG is indicated, there is an increased risk of reocclusion and restenosis to the patient undergoing PCI. In addition, it is difficult to administer an oral tablet to a sedated patient which is often the case in subjects undergoing coronary angiography.
Accordingly, it would be highly beneficial to this field of therapy to provide a formulation that provides a more rapid therapeutic onset without requiring such excessive doses as are currently administered.
Clopidogrel can be taken with another drug to treat a disorder or disease in a subject. Clopidogrel, when taken with aspirin, is recommended for people who have been hospitalized with heart-related chest pain or had a certain type of heart attack—conditions doctors call acute coronary syndrome (ACS). U.S. Pat. No. 7,018,990 discloses the combined administration of a factor Xa inhibitor with clopidogrel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,348 discloses the combined administration of an ADP-receptor blocking antiplatelet drug and a thromboxane A2 receptor antagonist and a method for inhibiting thrombus formation with the combination. U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,729 discloses the combined administration of an ADP-receptor blocking antiplatelet drug and antihypertensive drug for preventing a cerebral infarction. U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,578 discloses the combined administration of clopidogrel and an antithrombotic agent. The combined use of clopidogrel with other drugs is also disclosed in U.S. Pregrant Publications No. 20050043382 and No. 20040067995, and in published articles by Wegert et al. (Int. J. Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. (2002), 40(4), 135-141) and Gurbel et al. (Circulation, (2005), 111(9):1153-1159).
Various U.S. patents and publications disclose formulations comprising clopidogrel, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,923,988, 6,761,903, 6,720,001, 6,569,463, 6,451,339, 6,429,210, 6,383,471, 6,294,192, and Publications No. 20060223845, No. 20060003002, No. 20040115287, No. 20030104048, No. 20020032149
Cyclodextrins are cyclic carbohydrates derived from starch. The unmodified cyclodextrins differ by the number of glucopyranose units joined together in the cylindrical structure. The parent cyclodextrins contain 6, 7, or 8 glucopyranose units and are referred to as α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrin respectively. Each cyclodextrin subunit has secondary hydroxyl groups at the 2 and 3-positions and a primary hydroxyl group at the 6-position. The cyclodextrins may be pictured as hollow truncated cones with hydrophilic exterior surfaces and hydrophobic interior cavities. In aqueous solutions, these hydrophobic cavities provide a haven for hydrophobic organic compounds, which can fit all, or part of their structure into these cavities. This process, known as inclusion complexation, may result in increased apparent aqueous solubility and stability for the complexed drug; however, the degree of stabilization will vary from drug to drug. The complex is stabilized by hydrophobic interactions and does not involve the formation of any covalent bonds.
Chemical modification of the parent cyclodextrins (usually at the hydroxyl moieties) has resulted in derivatives with sometimes improved safety while retaining or improving the complexation ability of the cyclodextrin. Of the numerous derivatized cyclodextrins prepared to date, only two appear to be commercially viable; the 2-hydroxypropyl derivatives (HP-β-CD or HPCD), neutral molecules being commercially developed by Janssen and others, and the sulfoalkyl ether derivatives (SAE-β-CD or SAE-CD), being developed by CyDex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The SAE-CDs are a class of negatively charged cyclodextrins, which vary in the nature of the alkyl spacer, the salt form, the degree of substitution and the starting parent cyclodextrin. The sodium salt of the sulfobutyl ether derivative of beta-cyclodextrin, with an average of about 7 substituents per cyclodextrin molecule (SBE7-β-CD), is being commercialized by CyDex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Kansas) as CAPTISOL® cyclodextrin.
The anionic sulfobutyl ether substituent dramatically improves the aqueous solubility of the parent cyclodextrin. Reversible, non-covalent, complexation of drugs with the CAPTISOL® cyclodextrin generally allows for increased solubility and stability of some drugs in aqueous solutions. However, the improved properties of SAE-CD over HP-β-CD in terms of binding to specific drugs are somewhat unpredictable. Many drugs are known to bind better with SAE-CD, while others are known to bind better with HP-β-CD. Moreover, CAPTISOL® cyclodextrin is relatively new, and its combined use with clopidogrel has not been evaluated or suggested in the prior art.
Various patent references disclosing compositions containing different salt, amorphous, crystalline and/or polymorphic forms of clopidogrel, optionally in the presence of another drug, suggest that the clopidogrel might be included in such compositions as a complex with a cyclodextrin. However, none of those references specifies or exemplifies SAE-CD.
Slovenian Patent No. SI 21748, which issued Oct. 31, 2005 to Rudolf Rucman (DIAGEN D.O.O.) discloses inclusion complexes of clopidogrel, as a free base or salt form, and cyclodextrins such as β-CD, γ-CD, methyl cyclodextrin and hydroxyalkyl cyclodextrin, the latter two being preferred. The patent also discloses the use of poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) having a molecular weight of 10,000-40,000 instead of cyclodextrin to solubilize the clopidogrel.
Kolbe et al. (J. Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry (2002 December), 44(1-4), pg. 183-184) disclose the formation of a complex of dimethylcyclodextrin and clopidogrel base in a 1:1 molar ratio. The complex precipitates from cold solution.
U.S. Application Publication No. 2004-0109888 to Pun et al. discloses a polymeric cyclodextrin material.
U.S. Application Publication No. 2005-0096296 to Fikstad et al. discloses a “pharmaceutical composition comprising: a therapeutically effective amount of a drug; a solubilizer; and a release modulator; wherein the release of the drug and solubilizer are synchronized.”
U.S. Application Publication No. 2005-0276841 to Davis et al. discloses a “sustained-release biodegradable polymeric drug-eluting fiber”, wherein the drug may be complexed with a cyclodextrin.
Clopidogrel is known to possess poor chemical stability in solution. Its degradation typically proceeds by a hydrolytic pathway whereby the ester form is converted to the carboxylic acid derivative. The stability of clopidogrel toward hydrolysis is pH dependent having a t90 of about 52.7 days at pH 5.6 when stored at 37° C. temperature in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (Drug Metab. Disposition (2000), 28(12), 1405-1410). A chemically stable solution formulation of clopidogrel would be useful in the art. Clopidogrel is known to undergo chiral inversion in vivo and in vitro (Reist et al., Drug Metab. Dispos. (2000), 28(12), 1405-1410); however, the (R)-enantiomer of clopidogrel is devoid of antithrombotic activity and can provoke convulsions in animals.
Due to the toxicology profile of clopidogrel and its typical administration at excessively high doses in a clinical procedure room environment, it would be desirable to provide a formulation that could avoid administration of the unnecessarily large amounts of clopidogrel, while at the same time provide the desired increase in the rate of therapeutic onset, i.e. a desired decrease in the time after drug administration that it takes to achieve the desired reduction in platelet aggregation.